Four Florida teenagers are behind bars without bond after sheriff’s investigators say they beat a disabled 19-year-old man for as long as 40 minutes during a bonfire party, laughing while they did it and filming parts of the assault for Snapchat.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood identified the suspects as Cody Stripling, 18, Sebastian Bowers, 19, Logan Levesque, 18, and Casey Knight, 19. He said they ambushed the victim, who has limited use of one arm, at Tiger Bay State Forest near Daytona Beach on Oct. 23.
At a press conference Thursday, Chitwood did not soften his language describing what he saw on footage of the attack.
“When I first saw it, the first reaction was I want to throw up,” Chitwood said. “These morons, who we’ve dubbed ‘Scumbags of the Week,’ decide it’s a good idea to beat somebody down who can’t defend themselves.”
According to the footage, the victim was sitting in the back of a pickup truck when one of the attackers struck him in the head and threw him to the ground. From there, he was punched and kicked repeatedly as he sat helpless on the ground. The group could be heard laughing as the beating went on.
“He couldn’t even throw a punch,” Chitwood said. “He couldn’t do anything. He just walks up and gets sucker-punched and they’re piling on him, kicking him, stomping him, putting him in a chokehold.”
Chitwood said the victim had come to the bonfire with a friend but had been shy and reluctant to join in. The attackers told investigators the man had made an inappropriate comment about a woman at the party and touched her leg, and claimed they were “defending the woman’s honor.”
The sheriff rejected that explanation outright.
“You’re beating an individual that basically has one arm is what you’re doing and some other issues. And you think it’s cool. I don’t — I don’t — I don’t get it,” Chitwood said.
A friend eventually pulled the victim away from the group, but his mother did not call police until the following day. He suffered a concussion and several minor injuries.
All four teens face enhanced felony charges, including battery on a disabled adult. Knight is additionally accused of recording the attack and posting the video to Snapchat.
“If you’re gonna stand there and film this stuff, and then post it, your ass is getting locked up, OK?” Chitwood said of Knight. “You have a duty to intervene but you want to be a cameraman and get clicks and you want to film your punk coward ass friends, you’re going to get the same treatment that they’re going to get.”
Stripling and Bowers were arrested first, followed by Levesque and Knight. All four remain in jail without bond.
“They should be known for what they did. You want to me a big man? Well, now they’re going to be treated like big men,” Chitwood said.
